Vengeance
by Foxgirl2501
Summary: Cinderella has had enough of her cruel stepfamily, so she contacts Hell Girl. Will she do the right thing and be good, or pull the thread and damn her stepfamily and herself to hell?
1. Vengeance

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Cinderella**_** or **_**Hell Girl**_**.**

**Here, I will poke fun at Disney's version of **_**Cinderella**_**, though I will borrow elements from the Grimm Brothers' story.**

**I've seen Disney's **_**Cinderella**_**, and I find it appalling that Cinderella doesn't swear vengeance on her stepmother and stepsisters for all the cruelty they inflicted upon her. Well, that thought was the inspiration for this story.**

**Warning: there are scenes of abuse in the story and second ending.**

* * *

Vengeance

In a tiny, faraway kingdom, there was a girl whose god-sent name was long forgotten. She lived with her mother and father in a luxurious chateau. However, while she was still young, her mother suddenly became deathly ill.

As she lay on her deathbed, the mother told her daughter, "Dear child, be good and pious, and then the good God will always protect you. I will watch over you from Heaven, and I will always be near you."

After her death, the father became depressed, but he still had his daughter to love and care for. Sometime later, he met and fell in love with a woman by the name of Lady Tremaine. They soon married each other and Lady Tremaine and her two daughters, Drizella and Anastasia, moved into the chateau.

Now, the little girl's stepmother and two stepsisters were beautiful, but on the inside, they were cruel. Whenever the father wasn't around, they would abuse her and force her to clean the house. Afraid of what they might do to her, the girl never told her father about the cruelty behind her new stepfamily. Even as she put up with the cruelty and abuse, she remembered her mother's words and she remained good and pious.

A few years passed, and one day, without warning, the father became sick. The now grown girl tried her best to help him, but his condition worsened quickly and he died that night. She buried him next to her mother and wept for them both. However, Lady Tremaine and her daughters were not the least bit sad over the father's sudden death. Since then, their cruelty towards the girl became worse.

Every day, year after year, she served her stepfamily as the chateau's scullery maid. Since she spent most of her time in the cinders of the fireplace, she was nicknamed "Cinderella" by the stepsisters. As time passed by, the family fortune started to dwindle, with the money being spent on the stepsisters' greedy desires. Even in these hard times, Cinderella remembered her mother's words and she remained good and pious.

However, there were times when she felt her hopes waver. On these times, she would pray on her parents' graves and she would receive the help she needed. Friendly animals, from mice to birds, came to her aid and helped her with the chores whenever she wanted them to. Whenever she became sad, the animals were there to cheer her up. Without them, she would have fallen into despair a long time ago.

One day, during the year in which Cinderella was sixteen, she heard something that would change her life forever. As Cinderella was scrubbing the benches in the garden, she overheard two people talking. She knew that it was the neighbors talking from the other side of the stone wall that separated her chateau from their house. Normally, she would not listen in, for it was not polite, but on this day, she couldn't help but listen.

"Aiden!" A woman's voice called out in happiness. "You're back!"

"I've missed you, Jessica." A man's voice said back.

Cinderella knew that one of her neighbors had gone on a trip to a foreign land months ago and, judging from the conversation she was overhearing, he had now just arrived back from his trip. She heard the two people talking to each other, with the man telling stories of his trip. During the conversation, one interesting topic popped up.

"In this land," Aiden started, "they have an afterlife and a hell just like we do, but there's a certain group that can instantly send people to hell for doing wrong things."

"Instantly?" Jessica asked. "That cannot be true!"

"Apparently, they're called the 'Hell Correspondence', and you can hire them to send someone you hate to hell. It's all just a rumor in that land, but if you send a letter to them with the name of the one you hate on it at midnight, the Hell Girl comes and-."

"Stop it! I do not want to hear any more on this! Please, can't we just talk about something more pleasant than a disgusting rumor?"

"I'm sorry, Jessica. I did not mean to upset you so."

Cinderella lowered her head in thought. Could it really be true, that you can send someone to hell instantly by sending a letter to this group, to this "Hell Correspondence"? If that could be done, then can they send more than one person to hell at a time? Cinderella shook her head. She mustn't think of such thoughts, not when she was supposed to be good and pious, like her mother told her to be. With the thought lingering in the back of her mind, she went back to work.

* * *

That night, Cinderella woke up from her sleep. She looked at the big clock tower that was near the castle and saw that it was ten minutes to midnight. As she tried to go back to sleep, she remembered the conversation she had heard earlier that day. She also thought back to the moments where her stepfamily treated her like she was less than dirt.

She touched her cheek lightly and felt over the bruise that appeared a day ago. Yesterday, her stepmother slapped her for having dropped a plate by accident. The worst part was, that bruise wasn't the worst physical abuse Cinderella had suffered from. There were times when her stepsisters had kicked her for absolutely no reason, other than for their twisted enjoyment. A few times, when she failed to complete a chore, her stepmother would strike at her with an antique whip, leaving scars on her back.

_"You're bleeding on the floor."_ Her stepmother would scold her. _"Clean it up at once!"_

Cinderella knew that her cruel stepfamily was going to hell eventually, but she never dared to dream that there would be a way to send them there instantly. She wondered if maybe, just _maybe_, this rumor was true. She got out of bed and went to her desk. She pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill and inkwell.

She wrote: _To Hell Correspondence: Every day, since my parents died, my stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and stepsisters, Drizella and Anastasia, abuse me and force me to work as their maid. I have been putting up with this for years, and I've finally had enough. If you please, send them to hell for all the wrongs they have done to me. Sincerely, Cinderella._

Cinderella folded the parchment and slipped it into an envelope. She now realized that she did not know the address of the correspondence. She heard a cry outside and she walked over to the window. Sitting on a tree branch and staring at her was a nighthawk. It flew up to Cinderella and perched on the window sill. Cinderella had a feeling that somehow, the nighthawk knew her predicament. She asked it, "Do you know where Hell Correspondence is?"

The nighthawk gave a single nod. Cinderella looked at the clock and saw that it was one minute before midnight. She held the envelope in front of the bird and told it, "Please, take it to them this instant!"

The nighthawk took the envelope in its beak and it flew off into the night. Cinderella now realized just what she was doing as the clock struck twelve. The bells rang twelve times, but nothing happened. She lowered her head and said, "I knew it; the whole thing is just a rumor."

"It is not." A cold, emotionless voice said.

Cinderella turned around and saw that she was not alone. Standing near the doorway was a girl with long, black hair and red eyes. She wore a black kimono (to which Cinderella thought was a strange-looking dress) with a floral pattern on it. She stared at Cinderella with an almost dead look to her red eyes, which made Cinderella feel highly uncomfortable.

"Who are you?" Cinderella asked. "How did you get in here?"

"You have summoned me." The girl said in a quiet, emotionless voice. "My name is Ai."

"So, you're really from the Hell Correspondence? Are you the Hell Girl?"

Ai held out her hand. In it, there was a black straw doll with a red thread tied around its neck. She said, "This is for you."

Cinderella walked up to Ai, but she hesitated in taking the doll. Did she really want to do this? She thought back to her mother's words, then to the cruelty of her stepfamily. She slowly reached her hand out and took the straw doll.

"If you truly want revenge," Ai explained, "just untie the scarlet thread around his neck. Pulling the thread will bind you into a covenant with me. I will ferry the souls of your tormentors straight into the depths of hell."

"Just like that?" Cinderella actually considered pulling the thread.

"However, once vengeance has been served, you will have to deliver your end of the bargain. There is always a price to pay, so when you die, your soul will also belong to hell."

Cinderella gasped and covered her mouth with her spare hand. She did not want to go to hell. As she thought this, darkness surrounded her. The next thing she knew, she was hovering over a pit full of lava. In that pit, thousands of people were screaming and being burned alive by the lava. Cinderella screamed in terror and turned her head every which way, hoping to find a way out.

"You will never know the joys of Heaven," Ai's voice echoed, "you will be left to wander through a world of pain and agony for all eternity."

Cinderella suddenly started to fall. She screamed as she landed in the lava and joined the other victims. Her body instantly caught on fire and her skin began to melt off her bones. She screamed, and screamed, and screamed, yet the pain would not stop.

"The choice," Ai's voice said, "is yours."

Cinderella's eyes snapped open and she found herself in her bed. She sat up and looked out the window. To her surprise, it was now morning. She lowered her head and sighed with relief. She said to herself, "It was all just a bad dream."

She looked at her hand and saw that she was holding onto the black straw doll. She groaned at the realization that the events from last night weren't a dream. She cringed at the memory of the vision from hell. She had felt the heat of the lava and the pain of being burned alive like it was actually happening to her.

"With this doll," she said to herself, "I can make my stepmother and stepsisters suffer in hell, but only if I suffer with them when I die." Again, she remembered her mother's words. If she was good and pious, then she would be happy and eventually join her parents in Heaven. If she pulled the thread, then her hopes of joining her parents would be gone forever.

"No," she shook her head, "I cannot do this."

Cinderella tossed the doll into a corner of the room. She got dressed and, trying to put herself in a good mood, proceeded to the kitchen to fix her stepmother and stepsisters breakfast.

* * *

Early in the afternoon, a footman came to the chateau with a message from the king. According to the letter, there is a ball to be held tonight at the castle honoring the prince's return from his trip, and all maidens are to attend by royal decree. The stepsisters were eager to attend, and their mother was more than happy to take them. Cinderella also wanted to go, but Lady Tremaine wouldn't let her until she finished all of her chores.

Back when both of her parents were alive, Cinderella had always dreamed of going to the castle to attend a royal ball. Hopefully she would also meet the prince and marry him. Though it was a childish dream, it was the only thing she had to hope for now. Even if she was forced to work for her stepfamily, they could not take away her dream.

To make sure Cinderella didn't go, the stepfamily had her do more work than usual. Now, Cinderella had her mother's dress to wear to the ball, but it was old fashioned and it needed to be improved. She was hoping to work on the dress in her spare time, but the cruel stepfamily made sure she didn't have any. Fortunately, her animal friends were there to help. So while Cinderella worked, the mice and the birds worked on improving the dress for the ball.

When the clock struck eight, a carriage arrived to pick up the maidens at the chateau. When Cinderella came down in her dress, the stepsisters were so furious, they ran at her and tore her dress to shreds. Satisfied with the ruination of what was supposed to be Cinderella's best night in her life, the stepmother and stepsisters boarded the carriage and left for the castle.

Left behind at the foyer of the chateau, Cinderella, who wore only shreds of her mother's dress over her undergarments, dropped to her knees in despair. Her eyes watered and she broke down crying within a second. She sobbed to herself, "No! It isn't true!"

For years, she had dreamed of going to the castle and meeting the prince. Even when the odds were slim, she kept a cheerful attitude and never stopped giving up on her dream. When the opportunity did come, just as she thought no one could take away her dream, her stepfamily had to ruin everything for her.

"It's just no use." Cinderella continued to cry. "No use at all. I can't believe. Not anymore. There's nothing left to believe in. Nothing!"

"Oh now I wouldn't say that, my dear." A warm voice said.

Cinderella lifted her head up and saw that an elderly woman in blue was kneeling beside her. She had a warm, white aura surrounding her and her face was that of a kindly grandmother. Before Cinderella could ask who she was, the woman said, "If you had stopped believing, then I wouldn't be here."

Cinderella stood up and now asked, "Who are you?"

"Your mother saw what had happened, so she sent me here to make your dream come true."

"Mother sent you? So…you're an angel?"

"You may call me that, if you wish."

Cinderella couldn't believe it. Last night, she saw a girl who could instantly send people to hell. Now, she was seeing an angel her mother sent her who wanted to help her. She asked, "How can you help?"

The angel took out a magic wand and said, "I will make you a beautiful dress and glass slippers, and I will provide you a carriage to take you to the ball."

"Oh, you will? Thank you, thank you! I…" Cinderella paused.

She could now go to the ball, but what about her cruel stepfamily? If she went, they would just stop her again. Even after the ball, everything would just go back to normal and she would still have to work under the iron thumbs of her stepfamily. She asked, "But what about my stepmother and stepsisters?"

The angel could sense the hostility in her voice, and she said, "I cannot do anything to change them, but for this one night, I can make your dream come true by taking you to the ball."

"Please!" Cinderella pleaded. "They are always mean to me! They make me clean the place and they never give their gratitude! When I don't do what they want me to or if I mess up, they hit me! What good will it do if I go to the ball when they can just keep ruining my life?" She turned around so that the angel could see the scars on her back.

"Cinderella-."

"Since mother and father died, I had faith that my dream would come true, but now I see that having faith isn't enough! Tonight, I'm going to do something for once. I'm ending all of this once and for all!"

Cinderella started to run up the stairway to her room in the tower when the angel shouted, "Cinderella, stop at once!"

Startled by the loudness of her voice, Cinderella stopped and turned to face the elderly angel. The angel scolded her and said, "I know you have contacted Hell Girl, and I know how you are feeling, but vengeance never leads to anything good. If you complete the Hell Girl's contract, then you will never be with your mother and father in Heaven. Think of what you're doing. Please, for your parents, do the right thing."

So Cinderella began to think.

* * *

**The next two "chapters" are possible endings to this story. The first is where Cinderella decides to do the good thing and not pull the thread off the straw doll. The second is where Cinderella decides she wants vengeance and pulls the thread off the doll. You can pick one to read, or you can read them both.**

**As you may have noticed, I changed the fairy godmother to an angel. I did this so that it would match the religious theme of the story. Personally, I would find it strange to include a fairy godmother in a story that just talked about God and Heaven (the whole religion-and-magic-don't-mix thing, you know?).**

"Then why does the angel have a magic wand?" **In the **_**Inferno**_**, a heavenly messenger appeared to open the way for Dante and Virgil, and he used a magic wand to open the door. If Dante can do it, then why not I?**

"That just contradicts what you said earlier about religion and magic not mixing! Besides, _Snow White_ had magic, along with mentions of God and demons." **[No comment.]**


	2. Ending 1: Heaven's Light

**Disclaimer: I still do not own **_**Cinderella**_** or **_**Hell Girl**_**.**

**Here is the first ending, where Cinderella does the good thing.**

* * *

Ending 1: Heaven's Light

Cinderella thought back once again to her kindly parents. Her mother gave her the tender love that all children desired, as did her father. She remembered her mother's words on her deathbed. She had told her to be good and pious, and that she will always watch over her. Since her death, Cinderella would sometimes feel her mother's presence close by. When her father died suddenly, she could feel him watching over her too, right beside her mother.

Even in times of sadness and pain, Cinderella did her best to stay good and pious. Whenever she felt her hopes waver, she would always pray to God and her parents. They had responded through her animal friends, and they were always there for her when she needed them. Whenever she thought of bad things about her cruel stepfamily, she would always remember her parents and remain good and pious.

Now, Cinderella couldn't believe what she was doing. She was about to go get the black straw doll and send her stepfamily to hell. Yes, the abuse would stop, but when she died, her torment in hell would be much worse, and she knew that from last night's vision. A good and pious woman like her should not be making deals with a girl from Hell. If she were to complete the contract, her parents would never forgive her.

Cinderella stepped away from the staircase and told the angel, "I'm sorry. I let my emotions get the best of me. I should have never contacted the Hell Girl. Please," she lowered her head, "please, can you forgive me?"

The angel walked up to her and gave her a gentle hug. After she pulled away from Cinderella, she said, "You did the right thing, my child. There is still time to get you to the ball, if you still want to go."

"I do." Cinderella tried to smile.

"Now then," the angel flourished her wand, "let's get you ready."

* * *

As promised, the angel made Cinderella a beautiful white dress and a pair of glass slippers, along with a pumpkin carriage to take her to the castle. She was told that the magic would only last until midnight, so she must make the best of the hours she has. She arrived at the ball and danced with a handsome man, unaware that he was the prince.

When midnight struck, Cinderella had to leave. As she ran back to the carriage, she accidentally left one of her glass slippers behind. She boarded the carriage and made it home just as the magic ran out.

The next day, the prince went searching for the one whose foot would fit the glass slipper. When the Grand Duke came to the chateau, the stepsisters tried the slipper on, but their feet were just too big. Cinderella tried to reach the duke, but Lady Tremaine, suspecting that the beauty from the ball last night was in fact Cinderella, locked her in her room. However, with the help of her animal friends, Cinderella managed to reach the Grand Duke and tried on the slipper. When it fit perfectly, she was immediately taken to the castle.

She and the prince were reunited and they married each other on the same day. Now that she was living the happy life that she dreamed of, Cinderella had forgotten about the black straw doll that she received from Ai and her vengeance against her stepfamily. As far as she was concerned, she was now living happily ever after.

After the wedding, the carriage that Cinderella and the prince were in left to a distant land where they could spend their honeymoon. The crowds cheered on the coach and kept throwing rice at it. From the sidelines, four people watched the carriage leave the castle.

One was a handsome man with short black hair. One was a woman who wore a purple kimono. One was an old man who wore a hat on top of his bald head. The last was Ai, who had a snoozing nighthawk perched on her shoulder. As strange as this group looked, no one seemed to notice them.

The woman stared at the carriage and muttered, "There goes another one."

The old man turned to look at Ai and, after a minute of silence, said to her, "You don't look disappointed, miss."

Ai said nothing, but stared at a nearby tree. Perched on one of the lowest branches was a pair of doves. They stared at Ai, then turned their heads to look at the departing carriage. After a few seconds, they flew off the branch and soared straight towards the sun.

"Miss?" The young man asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"No." Ai murmured. "Let's go."

As the carriage disappeared on the horizon, the group slowly faded away into nothingness.

* * *

**The end! Up next is the ending where Cinderella does the bad thing.**


	3. Ending 2: Hell's Fire

**Now, here is the other ending, where Cinderella does the bad thing and pulls the thread.**

**Warning: since this **_**is**_** the chapter where the stepfamily gets damned, there will be disturbing content in this chapter. Reader discression is advised.**

* * *

Ending 2: Hell's Fire

Cinderella thought back to the day when her stepfamily arrived at the chateau after her father and Lady Tremaine married each other. From the moment that woman and her daughters stepped through the door, they hated Cinderella for no apparent reason. Whenever the father was away, the stepfamily would force her to work and even hit her at times.

Cinderella wanted to tell her father what was really happening, but she was under constant threat of Lady Tremaine's cruelty. Even in these unfair times, Cinderella still tried to be good and pious. When her father died suddenly, she felt her resolve waver greatly, especially when her abuse became worse almost immediately after.

Now that she thought about it, Cinderella thought Lady Tremaine seemed happy that her father died…almost _too_ happy. Cinderella thought back to the day her father died. When she saw her stepmother's face in the shadows, she was sure she saw a smirk on her face. The thought never crossed her mind before, but could Lady Tremaine have…?

No.

No. She couldn't have…could she?

All the memories of the stepfamily's cruelty came to her in a single flood. She could hear her stepsisters' snide laughter as they watched her work and gave her the occasional kick. She could also see her stepmother's evil smirk from the shadows and the glare of her eyes. Rage overcame Cinderella and she knew what she had to do, even if it meant disobeying her mother's dying wish.

"I'm sorry," Cinderella told the angel, "but I can't put up with this anymore."

She ran up the stairs to her room, ignoring the angel's warnings. When she arrived in her room, she went to the corner where she threw the straw doll earlier. She saw that it was still there, so she picked it up and looked out the window.

In the distance, she could see the lights of the castle and the dark face of the clock tower. Cinderella wondered just what her stepfamily was doing. Most likely, the prince would be dancing with either Anastasia or Drizella, with Lady Tremaine watching them with a satisfied look on her face. Cinderella gritted her teeth and she grabbed hold of the scarlet thread.

"Mother," Cinderella said softly, "I'm sorry."

A tear dripped down from her eye as she pulled the thread from the doll's neck.

A sudden gust of wind blew past the window and blew both the doll and the thread out of Cinderella's hands. She watched as both doll and thread vanished in the night. As the wind died down, she could hear a man's voice echo, "Your grievance…shall be avenged."

* * *

At the royal ball, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella were having the best time of their lives. Though the sisters weren't able to dance with the prince, they found other handsome men to dance with. Lady Tremaine did not dance, as her age was catching up to her, but she was just happy watching her daughters dance.

The sisters took a break from dancing and sat down next to their mother. As they rested their feet, they scanned the crowd for more men to dance with. They both spotted a young man with short black hair standing some distance away, staring at them both with his dark eyes. To the sisters, he was more handsome than the prince, yet why was no one dancing with him? Neither sister questioned that as they jumped out of their seats and trotted up to him.

"Move out of the way!" Drizella shoved Anastasia. "He's mine!"

"No!" Anastasia shoved her sister back. "_He's_ mine!"

The young man watched the sisters approach him and he walked up to them. When he was about a yard away, the sisters fell silent and gaped at how handsome he was up close. He gave a friendly smile and, holding both his hands out, asked, "Would you both like to dance?"

Both sisters nearly swooned at this. They both eagerly grabbed the man's hands and they walked outside to courtyard, where it was less crowded. Lady Tremaine smiled at how happy her daughters were and gave a sigh of content.

"Pardon me, madam," an elderly voice spoke up, "but would you care to dance with me?"

Lady Tremaine turned her head and saw a bald old man dressed in black standing next to her. She said sweetly, "Thank you, but I feel that dancing is more for the younger folk."

"That's not stopping me," the man offered his hand, "and I don't think it should stop you too. After all, royal balls don't happen every day."

"You are right." Lady Tremaine took the hand and stood up.

As they both walked into the crowd, the old man said, "Let's go outside, where there's more room."

They both made their way out of the crowd and stepped outside into the courtyard. Outside, they could see the young man taking turns dancing with Anastasia and Drizella. Now that Lady Tremaine had a good look around, she noticed that there was no one else outside, other than a lone woman playing the violin.

"Lovely evening, isn't it?" The man asked.

Lady Tremaine turned her attention back to the man and said, "Yes, it is."

The man glanced at the sisters and said, "I saw them with you earlier. Are they your daughters?"

"Yes, they are." Lady Tremaine said proudly as she smiled.

"Have they danced with the prince?"

"No. Apparently, he thinks my daughters are not worthy to dance with him."

"The Royal family _does_ have particular tastes."

"I agree with you on that." Lady Tremaine said sourly.

"Don't let that spoil the evening." The old man smiled. "Let's just enjoy the dance."

They slowly swayed in tune with the long notes on the woman's violin. Ten minutes later, Lady Tremaine turned to look back at the ballroom and noticed that it was dark and strangely empty.

Meanwhile, the young man and the sisters sat on the rim of a large fountain and made casual conversation. Eventually, Anastasia asked, "So, who's prettier, me or Drizella?"

"That's a stupid question!" Drizella spoke up. "We all know that I'm the prettier one."

"No, I am!"

Before they could start arguing again, the young man said, "Please, calm down. I'll tell you both what I think."

The sisters crowded around the young man, eager to hear what he had to say. He smiled and said, "You know, Anastasia, Drizella, I think you are both equally the ugliest women I have ever seen before in my life."

Both girls cried out in both surprise and anger and they shoved the man into the fountain. Hearing her daughters cry out, Lady Tremaine ran to their side and asked, "What is the matter?"

The sisters pointed at the man in the water and both talked about how he insulted them. Amongst their complaining, the old man walked up to them and shouted, "Would you both quiet down?"

The sisters fell silent and stared at the man, with Drizella asking her mother, "Mother, who is this man?"

"You need to understand," the man said, "that the man you shoved in the fountain was giving his honest opinion, and quite frankly," he frowned, "I must agree with him."

The sisters cried out in anger again and Lady Tremaine snapped, "How dare you insult my daughters!"

The woman stopped playing the violin and approached the women, saying, "Cinderella is more beautiful than all of you. She should have been here, but you made sure that her only dream would not come true. Why is that, I wonder?"

Lady Tremaine demanded, "How do you know about Cinderella?"

"I saw it." The young man said. "I saw everything."

The women turned around and they were instantly engulfed in darkness. Staring at them from everywhere at once were many large blue eyes. They screamed at what they saw, with the frightened sisters embracing their mother like children.

"I saw how you treated Cinderella." The young man's voice echoed in the dark.

The next thing they knew, they were back at the foyer of the chateau, except they wore rags instead of their dresses. They also found that they were kneeling on the floor with sponges and wash buckets next to them. They tried to stand up, but a sudden pain shot down their legs, forcing them to kneel again.

From behind, someone kicked each of the women on their rears. The sisters shouted complaints while Lady Tremaine demanded, "What is going on? What is the meaning of this?"

"Get to work!" They could hear the old man shout from behind them.

"Work, you wretched things!" They heard the young man shout.

"No!" Anastasia screamed. "We're not lowly scullery maids!"

"You are all going to pay for this!" Drizella also screamed in fury.

"You're not going to work?" They heard the woman ask.

The women lifted their heads up and saw a skeletal woman in a purple dress glaring down at them with a whip in her hands. She raised her whip and struck Anastasia across her back. She screamed in pain as the woman proceeded to whip her sister and mother in the same fashion.

"Get to work!" The woman yelled at them. "Those floors aren't going to clean themselves!"

The sisters whimpered and they picked up their sponges. Her mother snapped, "What are you doing?"

The woman whipped Lady Tremaine until her back bled. Both sisters cried out in fear and they began to scrub the floors. Despite this, the woman also whipped them until their backs bled. Their blood welled up, dripped down the sides of their backs, and fell onto the floor. Seeing this, the young man groaned, "They're bleeding all over the floor."

"Clean it up at once!" The skeletal woman snapped.

Finally, Lady Tremaine obeyed, picked up a sponge, and began to scrub the floors along with her daughters. The skeletal woman smirked and said, "Oh, and while you are all at it, I want you to clean the carpets, wash the windows and the tapestries, clean the garden…"

The old man chimed in, "Do the laundry, scrub the terrace, sweep the stairs…"

The young man also chimed in, "Sweep the halls, clean the chimneys, and mend the clothes, and they all have to be done before tonight."

"But it's already night." The old man noted.

The skeletal woman raised the whip and said to the women, "Then that makes you all lazy, good-for-nothing wenches!"

The woman laughed madly and whipped the women while the men kept kicking and insulting them. The women never stopped crying in pain, nor did they stop scrubbing. Eventually, their blood formed a large pool around them and they had no choice but to keep scrubbing the floors with their own blood.

From the shadows, a girl with long black hair and red eyes stepped out. The men and the skeletal woman moved aside and allowed the girl to walk up to the women. She stared at them coldly and said to them, "Oh pitiful shadows lost in darkness, bringing torment and pain to others…oh damned souls wallowing in your sin…perhaps…it's time to die."

"Die?" The sisters shrieked. "What did we do to deserve this?"

The girl did not answer, but she lifted her arm to the side. All the flowers from her black kimono flew off towards the women, and they were once again in darkness.

When they opened their eyes, the stepfamily found themselves on a boat in the middle of a gray lake. Floating on the water were little lit paper lanterns and, ahead of the boat, there was a large, red Japanese gate that stood in the middle of the water. Rowing the boat was the girl with the red eyes.

Lady Tremaine stood up and demanded, "Where are we? Where are you taking us?"

"Hell." Was the only thing the girl said.

"Hell?" Anastasia cried out. "Why are you taking us there?"

"I don't wanna go to hell!" Drizella bawled. She stood up and was about to jump off the boat when she saw the figures of many skeletons raise their arms out of the water. She screamed and sat back down, huddling close to her mother.

"Listen, young lady," Lady Tremaine tried to be brave, "you take us back right now-."

"You have tormented someone who never did anything to you." The girl said without emotion. "This is vengeance, so I am to ferry you to hell."

All the stepfamily could do was huddle close together and cry until they passed underneath the red gate to hell.

* * *

Back at the chateau, Cinderella got wind of her stepfamily's mysterious disappearance. People searched all over the kingdom, but they were nowhere to be found. Eventually, Cinderella gained the rights to her home and money again, and she opened her chateau up as an inn where travelers could stay overnight. There, she managed the inn while some of the local maidens helped by cooking and cleaning the chateau. Of course, Cinderella sympathized with the women and also helped them to clean the place. She searched the place for her animal friends to see if they could also help, but they were nowhere to be found, nor did she ever see them again.

Every day, Cinderella would look at herself in the mirror and see the black flare mark over her right breast, which was the reminder of her covenant with Ai. She was well aware that she was going to hell when she died, yet she did not really regret her decision, and she decided that it would be best if she lived her life to the best of her ability.

Though she wasn't able to attend the ball and meet the prince on that fateful night, at least she was rid of her cruel stepfamily forever.

* * *

**The end! I hoped you enjoyed the story!**

**Final note: I highly doubt Hell Correspondence can damn multiple people upon a single person's request, but for this one story, I've decided to allow it.**


End file.
